Finale
by Esparia
Summary: When the world's fate takes a wrong turn and essentially destroys any semblance of peace, it's going to stay that way. There is no such thing as "going back in time to redo everything" there is no restart button, time travel does not exist. Only those still aware would be able to change anything, and they would, even if it meant being with their past enemies. Post-apocalyptic AU
1. Chapter 1

Finale

By Esparia

 **Esparia: This chapter has been done for a while...I suppose the reason I wasn't getting any reviews was because I didn't post this...posting helps. Any way, about the story.**

 **A post-apocalyptic Naruto fanfiction that'll update whenever I find time outside of my Spiral Series and is comparatively darker. Never thought I'd see something like this under "What Esparia has written", but I suppose it's overdue. I like night writing and this seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so sure though. If you want this thing to continue you'll have to tell me, otherwise I'm going to end up forgetting about it and take it down.** **This thing has actually been floating around my USB for a while now. It was...bad. Really really bad.**

 **However, I saw where I was going with it. That being said, instead of chucking it out the door for being an abomination to society like I** _ **should**_ **have done, I decided to make something new out of it. I stripped it for what it was worth and with the base of the base I created a new fanfiction that can hardly be recognized as what it was. Things I'm keeping? The title (which I'm proud to say wasn't actually bad with the exception it was spelled wrong) and the concept that the Naruto world would be ravaged by a titanic chakra beast. Inspired by "Sky Runs Red" by firefly...though really isn't alike for obvious reasons if you ever read firefly's work.**

 **Anyway, I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. Ladies and gents, I present to you the long awaited "Finale".**

 **Warning ('cause this needs one): Death. Tons of it. I mean there is going to be a crazy amount of dead people that are** _ **not**_ **being Kishimoto-Magiced back into the living world via Edo Tensei. Not happening. This isn't a zombie fiction. People are just gonna be dead. End of story. Other than that? Angsty feelings I suppose...*shrugs***

Chapter One

Zetsu was an old being, as old if not older then the biju. Zetsu was created by Otsutsuki Kaguya, whom he saw as a mother that needed to be revived. That was his plan after all, to revive his mother so she could finish her plans for this planet. His _half-brothers_ Hagoromo and Hamura had sealed her away into the moon, which frustrated him. Zetsu knew his mother needed to finish her plans for this earth, but Zetsu hadn't been powerful enough to get her back. He had learned how, eventually, but it would be difficult and take years upon years of planning and careful cultivating. He had nearly succeed in bring her back. He was so close, but he made a mistake. A mistake that cost him dearly. Perhaps it was because he chose Madara, perhaps it was because his minor slip was caught by the genius Uchiha. Whether it was the slip up or the fact he chose Madara as the Uchiha he needed, either way he made a mistake as he was now finding out.

The revived Madara slammed Zetsu's back into the stone wall, a snarl etched across his face. One hand was pinning the plant's body to the cold surface, infused with his chakra to keep Zetsu from fazing into the wall. Madara's other hand held a kunai to the black and white forehead.

"I knew you would betray me. I knew you wanted to use me and my power. I knew," Madara growled into Zetsu's white ear. Pressing the kunai hard enough to graze the scull, he whispered, "that's why, Zetsu, you are going to die."

With a shove, Otsutsuki Zetsu's life ended. Changing the fate of their shared world and dooming the people would have lived in it.

* * *

"Urk!" Naruto coughed and trembled as he feel to the ground. Limbs aching and sight dancing with the black spots that meant inevitable unconsciousness. He was lying by Uchiha Obito, the man who had tried to save him.

Obito had gotten free of whatever hold Madara had over him after his fight with Kakashi. Obito, after a long debate with the other kage and persuasion from Naruto, was let into the Alliance. He would be give the information he had to them along with being a last resort in case Naruto was captured. It was a fear the army had valid worries for. Madara wanted the biju to power his Plan, Obito had mentioned the mechanics were changed after Zetsu was eliminated. Madara's "Moon Eye Plan" was changed, it didn't use the moon. Obito hadn't known what it was, Madara hadn't told him.

When Naruto was captured, Obito was unaware until Madara began extracting Kurama. Kurama fought off the first attempt and sent a mental message to the double agent. As much as the fox hated the Uchiha, especially the ones that controlled him, he could see that Obito was also manipulated and was willing to work with him. Obito arrived casually, as if he had no alliance with the others. He had approached Madara, asking if he was having trouble with extracting the kyuubi then attacked with the kumui. Naruto was still recovering from the attempted extraction and was trying to focus enough to overcome the paralysis seals. Sadly all Madara needed was a few moments to kill Obito and begin extracting Kurama again. With the seal weakened he easily broke it and drew the nine tailed fox into the statue.

Madara chuckled lowly, an unstable look in his eye, he exclaimed, "at last! My plan of which I have had for decades will come to fruition. Behold, young Uzumaki, as the world's strongest and last genjutsu is cast upon its people. Watch and be amazed at this final creation of Uchiha Madara, head of the most powerful clan on Earth!"

Naruto struggled to keep himself awake, grasping at the ground weakly as he tried to pull himself up. The insane man leaped above the statue and landed on a protruding balcony, likely made from a doton jutsu.

" **N-Naruto..."** Kurama's voiced echoed Naruto's mind, **"don't watch...sleep."**

'I have to save you, Kurama! We're partners! You still need to tell me about the _good old days_ ,' Naruto projected back. Even though they were separated, Kurama had established his connection with his jinchuriki. It wasn't a connection that wasn't so easily broken merely by his lack of physical presence.

Madara flashed through hand seals and slammed them into the wall behind him, softly uttering, " _Tenmodo no jutsu_." (Skylight technique)

'Tch, points for _attempted_ creativity,' Naruto's muddled mind projected as he struggled to sit up, only to fall back down with a body wracking cough.

" **Naruto,** _ **please**_ **stop,"** Kurama cut through his pained hacking, **"I don't want...you to see this."**

'Not gonna happen...fox,' Naruto replied, 'I promised that he wouldn't get you. I never-'

" **I relieve this promise from you,"** Kurama interrupted, a note of panic in his voice as the great fox sensed his time running out.

Madara eyed the whole in the ceiling critically before flashing through more seal and slamming his hand back against the wall, " _Kyoumen no jutsu._ " (Mirror Surface technique)

The walls of the cave they were in shimmered and plated in facets, creating mirror like surfaces. It reminded Naruto eerily of Haku's ice mirrors, with the sick twist of an insane Uchiha's eyes replacing the friendly Hyoton user. The mirrors were dark, almost black, like it was made of obsidian that sucked the light around it away.

Mirror like rocks grew around the open roof of the cave, with the difference being it had fractal protruding mirrors. It was impossible to see the real sky through the large skylight.

'I will save you, Kurama,' Naruto thought with determination, dragging his body up before he fell to the mirrored floor. The cave spun, black spots increasing in number, "I...I will s-save you...Ku-Kurama..."

Madara grinned up at the mirrors, "Yes. Yes, yes, yes! Watch, Hashirama, watch me bring world peace in this Grand Finale! _Fuuin: Chakra Densen no jutsu!_ " (Seal: Chakra Electric Line technique)

The floors and walls lit up with strange designs crawling and zigzagging in what looked like a meaningless pattern.

'I can't move...but I have so save...' Naruto's thoughts slowed as his eyelids drooped.

" **That's right Naruto, sleep,"** Kurama projected gently.

Madara flashed through seal after seal, eyes blood red and tomoe spinning quickly, focused on a single point in the large room.

'I have to...' Naruto thought weakly as he lost consciousness.

" _Sharingan: Shuugenjutsu no jutsu_ ," Madara exclaimed, hands flying to what would have been a silly looking position. One hand held skyward like he was holding a tray, the other turned outwards with his wrist to the back of his head.

Kurama could feel his energy being sucked away into a vacuum like hole, his brothers and sisters being pulled along with him. Tails of chakra being pulled by the second.

" **Naruto...Gaki...s-sleep, sleep softly,"** Kurama said, cutting the connection and disappeared into the Uchiha's seal. Converting the energy into something the Uchiha could use to power his eyes to their fullest. Kurama, or what was left of the great fox, flared his remaining chakra to attack the madman. Madara grit his teeth through the pain of Kurama's final attempt and steadily continued his genjutsu. With that, Kurama vanished into nothing.

Kurama's attempt may have been in vain, it may not have succeeded in stopping the Uchiha. But it did do something. It caught Madara's attention. If only for the briefest moment Madara had twitched slightly off the point in the wall he was so keen on staring at.

The point looked no different then any other point in the mirror room, but it was the single spot that guaranteed his safety. It made sure that he was in complete control of the illusion. It made sure that Uchiha Madara would not be caught in his own web of synthetic reality.

Exactly twenty four hours after energy started casting itself into the strange dome above the cave, Uchiha Madara slumped before standing tall with a glazed look in his eye. A red band surrounded his irises, but they were not in any way an active sharingan. No, Uchiha Madara had doomed himself to the same fate as the ones cast in his genjutsu.

Stepping over what he thought were the two corpses of his last adversaries, Madara made his way out of the cave and into the open world.

"Did you see that, Hashirama? Did you see? I created world wide peace. There will never be war again. Never will a person die for the selfish reasons of another. No more fights. No more suffering. No more spilled blood, Hashirama! Don't you understand? _No one_ will loose their loved ones _ever again._ Ha-ha, aha- _ha,_ ha-ha-ha-ha _-ha_!"

Madara's laughter rang through the forest, the people with red circled irises payed no mind to Madara's laughter. They couldn't hear it, some to far away to logically be able to hear it anyway. The others too caught up in their own illusions, happy that the war was over and that Madara was defeated. The shinobi had won, after all.

When they first saw the red beam shoot up into the sky, many worried that it was Madara's doing. That whatever his plan was had come into being. When nothing happened, their surroundings stayed the same and nobody was dropping to the floor in a coma like state they had decided that maybe it wasn't Madara's plan. Then Naruto had come, returning to them with the declarations that Madara was dead, Obito grinning and saying that Naruto was the hero.

Yes the ninja were happy, never would they be so relieved to hear that a man was dead. They would be able to return to their families and their monotonous daily lives. Some planned on settling down, many declaring retirement the moment they walked into their village. At last, there would be peace.

The animals of the forest had watched the humans as they loudly made their way back to where ever they came from. They didn't think much of the strange glazed look they all had. As long as the humans didn't threaten them, they didn't care. Though a few got too close to a nest or the young, getting soundly bitten or pecked for such evil. Strangely enough, the humans didn't seem to notice their wounds. They moved out of the animal's way, but didn't really react. The animals didn't think much on this, outside of the fact that their tactics weren't working as fast as they would have wanted. Once the threat left, they thought no more on the subject of unresponsive humans.

* * *

Madara was ecstatic, his plan had worked wonderfully and he would finally be able to die in peace. His plan was fairly simple, in retrospect. Madara had planned on using the moon as his conductor after Zetsu suggested it, but upon realizing that Zetsu was a dirty turn coat he began seeing the flaws.

For one, a red moon could easily be avoided by not going out during the nighttime hours. He needed everyone under his control if he wanted to accomplish any world peace. If people fought him and tried breaking the people under his control it would do no good but make more war. No, the point of casting his genjutsu was so that everyone _thought_ they had won and would be subtly influenced into thinking of working towards peace. Who would want to fight something that they weren't even aware of. So he needed everyone to be trapped. Whether they were underground, shielding their eyes, were blind, or simply napping so that they couldn't see his moon would make it hard to get everyone. So instead, he worked with the people's consciousness. If they were aware of their surroundings, like any waking person would be, they would be stuck under the genjutsu. It took some modification, but Madara learned how to project his sharingan powers into the surroundings like a regular genjutsu. He just had to pulse it and any person aware of their surroundings would instantly be caught in it, the only problem then remained to the fact some were sleeping and wouldn't be caught. Madara managed to figure out that if he instead used the energy from the biju like a battery that powered the genjutsu over a longer period of time, he could catch the people with off sleeping patterns. It would be better for him physically anyway, since channeling a burst of nine biju worth of chakra through his eyes wasn't the healthiest thing optically. Madara liked his eyes not being blind, thank you very much.

His plan had a few flaws in it, however. The people in comas. He'd probably have to either personally genjutsu them or kill them. He would think on that later. The next problem were the animals. He couldn't tune the pulses of the genjutsu to accommodate the consciousness of a human and an animal. Humans were his primary concern, so he would only be able to genjutsu them. He wasn't sure what he planned on doing with the animal problem, sure the genjutsu he established had animals but it wasn't like the animals were there. The farms would run out of meat products eventually. The thing with his genjutsu was that it was based on the individual's idea of a "perfect and happy ending". The people each experienced their own version of the genjutsu, since if they got to talking in large groups they could start thinking in dangerous ways. When people got together they could easily make more blood shed. They couldn't interact with each other until their thinking was perfected.

He planned on starting the people with their ideas of a happy ending. It would be what they hoped for. However Madara would be influencing them to want simple peace. They wouldn't want to be shinobi or kunoichi anymore. They wouldn't lust for power or money. They would all want the quiet life with simple things. It would become the new world wide culture. To see such things as desirable. The adults would remain under the genjutsu since they were the most corrupted. The children would learn this from their parents and the genjutsu's ideals, they would be under the power but still learn. However those children would slowly be pooled together to interact with one another on a real level. Real conversations with their peers but still under the influence of the genjutsu. Their children wouldn't be under the genjutsu, since peace would be well intact for the four to five older generations ahead of them. They would probably ask why there was a red ring around their parents' and grandparents' eyes and not their's, Madara planned on excusing this as a "side effect" of the destruction of Madara's evil plan for world domination. The people would never know it was the genjutsu itself. That generation of free born children will be closely monitored. If Madara had to force an extra generation of influenced people then that was fine. But if it proved successful, then he would let himself fade into the winds like he was long past due to.

He would go out like a true shinobi. Dying for what he believed in. Dying to protect his village or clan. Dying without the trumpets blaring in grand telling that he had passed on. He would die in the whisper of a forgotten man that had brought world peace, with no acknowledgment to his name. He would die a shinobi.

* * *

Naruto slowly came awake, vaguely aware of his surroundings. The silence of his mind making him aware of the lack of a presence in it. Not the soft huff of a sleeping fox.

'Kurama, what happened?' Naruto asked. His question echoing the halls of his mind.

Naruto's blue eyes snapped open in panic, searching around the mirrored room for any traces of the deranged Uchiha. Any sign that the biju were still alive and kicking.

It was quiet in the dark room, the only sound of his rustling clothes and his breathing. The stench of aging blood and rotting flesh brought his attention to the corpse beside him.

"Obito," Naruto said, mind still spinning to keep up with what was happening. His coils ached but he knew he would survive the extraction-

'Kurama?' Naruto thought in panic, reality hitting him harder than one of Tsunade's angry punches, 'Kurama? Are you there? Are you there? Kurama? Kurama! No, you have to be here. Kurama! Kurama!'

Naruto sat up in alarm, chakra feeling out for any residue of his fox biju's chakra. He couldn't feel anything around him that signified that the fox was out there.

'Kurama! You can't leave! W-we're partners!' Naruto projected, 'Partners, Kurama! Y-you're my friend. My friend! Friends don't leave each other, baka no kitsune! Come on Kurama, just respond! This isn't funny. I know you're there. I bet you're having a good laugh over this. Kurama! Stupid fox, respond, dang it! Kurama! Kurama!'

"Stupid fox!" Naruto yelled angrily into the dark space around him, "You're really ticking me off! I _know_ you're there. This is just a stupid prank. You need to work on your humor, fox. 'Cause this is just _lame_. Just answer me already, you know you've been caught. Kurama. Kurama. Look I won't blow up on you if you just answer me, okay? So just answer already."

Silence answered Naruto's screaming, his heart beating harsh against his ears.

"Come on fox, what do you want from me? A drawn out speech declaring how great of a friend and partner you were, a declaration of how powerful I think you are? Not happening fox! I'll keep annoying you until you answer me," Naruto declared loudly, fists shaking by his sides, "Kurama, you dumb fox, stop with this ridiculous and uncreative prank. If you don't answer me right now, I swear I'm going to let Sasuke inside my head and genjutsu you with whatever his disturbed mind comes up with. Answer me Kurama! Kurama! Come on Kurama, answer me," Naruto's voice got quieter, "Kurama? Kurama? Kurama? Ku-Kurama?"

Naruto's hands clenched and unclenched, one hand traveling to his stomach above where the seal would have been.

"...Kurama?"

No one answered his call.

\- (3069)-


	2. Chapter 2

**Esparia: So, I forgot about this...**

Chapter Two

Naruto had blindly dragged the body of Obito out of the cave of mirrors. The stench of decaying flesh was overpowering, and the young blonde willed himself not to retch when the dim lights of the connected tunnel system revealed the carcass. Naruto pulled out a sealing scroll with shaking fingers and sealed the body away to be buried properly at a later time. The flow of chakra through his system left him curled up in pain; even for a simple sealing, it let him know that having Kurama ripped away from him would take a much longer time to heal than anticipated.

After catching his breath and hesitantly straitening, he pulled himself up to get out of the hole Madara dragged him in. He walked down the twisting halls of whatever labyrinth-like tunneling system Madara decided would be a good home for his doomsday device. It took the injured adolescent a few hours of stumbling to find the exit.

When he finally got outside he had to blink away the pain of suddenly adjusting to midday light. He couldn't find a trace of the insane old man, but didn't doubt that he would be making his way to the army. Naruto could guess that the army was a good five leagues to the east, he would be able to make it their by nightfall if he used his chakra. Though words that Tsunade had told him about straining chakra coils after exerting too much chakra was highly damaging and could kill him if he over did it if not scar him completely.

The amount of scarring that could happen after having a biju sucked out of you and continuing to use chakra afterward until plausible chakra exhaustion could render him unable to use chakra like Lee. He didn't want to give up his ninja career just yet, and he doubted he would ever be able to catch up to Lee's strength in his lifetime. He would have to tree hop or civilian walk his way to the army ground, and considering how hard it was to stumble out of that hole in the ground, it was going to take him a long time to get there.

Civilian walking it was.

Naruto stumbled through the woodland's underbrush. Tripping over roots and his own feet for five hours before passing our in a bramble bush. He slept there through the rest of his day and into the night, until the moon was high in the cloudy sky's expanse.

Blinking his bleary eyes open he was met with a face full of pokey thorns. Grumbling, he yanked and pulled himself to freedom, eventually flinging himself free of the bush's grasp and into the waiting arms of the clump of thistles.

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

(Note: Thistles have prickly stems covered in nettles (which are fine plant hair tipped in acid that make the scratches irritated and sting...like kitty scratches); thistles are also edible, and quite good in stew...when stripped of outer layer. ( _ **Don't eat the nettles**_ ))

"Ergh..." Naruto grumbled in pain as he extracted himself from the thorny hold of that _evil_ plant. Angry red scratches crisscrossed his face and palms, coupled with the bloody scratches that the thorns left behind. A slight whimper escaped his throat when he tried to close his hands. Naruto decided that the day couldn't get any worse, it would all get better from there.

With his resolve intact, he continued his march to the grounds where he knew his allies stayed. He hoped that they were okay.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time he reached the camp area.

"Hello?" Naruto called, "is anyone out there?"

His voice crossed the great battle opening, unhindered by the presence of humans.

Naruto looked around in confusion, where was everyone? Moving forward into what was once the camp, he scanned the bare ground for any signs of where they might have gone. The holes for what held the pitched tents were still there, marks of where a cot or a sleeping bag sat where scattered in clumps, the burnt ground of what were campfires were cold, and the footprints of the many ninja were all crisscrossing. Finding nothing in the inner parts of the camp outside of a few abandoned supplies (which he put in his pouches and a bag he salvaged), Naruto decided to circle the outskirts of the camp.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, three main trails that had hundreds of people leaving towards the villages.

"Why do you think they all left, Kurama?" Naruto asked and then froze, half hoping for an answer from the big fox. When he received no reply, he sighed and decided to follow the tracks that led towards Konoha.

Naruto followed the trail until he saw a small spiral of smoke in the distance. Quickening his steps, Naruto found his way to a small campsite within the hour.

He quietly observed the small site, there was a single man sitting beside the fire turning a stick over the fire as if he were roasting a fish or small animal. He turned suddenly in Naruto's direction and laughed loudly.

Startled, Naruto fell on his rump. He blinked a couple times before standing and greeting, "uh, sorry for the intrusion, uh...do you know where everyone is?"

The ninja didn't look at the blonde and continued chuckling under his breath.

Slightly disturbed, Naruto shifted his weight.

"You know, it happened so fast, everyone suddenly leaving," the man suddenly said, "you should sit and relax, those injuries aren't going to disappear overnight."

"Er, okay then," Naruto said, sitting down beside the man, "my name is Naruto, who are you."

"Hm, I wonder that sometimes too," the man replied.

"Ah," Naruto nodded slightly, Naruto concluded that the man was a bit...unbalanced.

"It's a good thing that brat escaped, though," the man commented, "else we'd all be goners."

"Oh," Naruto commented, watching with growing unease as the man ate his imaginary meat and pulled a canteen to drink.

"I'm headed toward Kumo, you?" the man asked.

"Konoha," Naruto replied.

"Gets hot there right? Not many trees," The Kumo ninja said, tilting his head as he looked into the space a little beyond Naruto's shoulder.

"Er, not really. Konoha is surrounded by trees...like the name suggests," Naruto said.

"Hm, I should visit sometime," the Kumo-nin said with a smiled, "sounds nice."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered.

"Well, I'm hitting the sack," the ninja said and stretched, "goodnight."

"Good night," Naruto said, watching as the ninja plunked down into his bedroll before turning over and falling asleep.

Naruto stared at the man with worry, that was by far one of the strangest conversations he's had. The ninja didn't seem to be completely coherent...but then again, most weren't by the time they made it to jounin.

Giving himself a good stretch, Naruto too fell asleep near the fire. Even though the man was crazy, a comrade was a comrade.

* * *

By the time Naruto woke up, the sun was passed its pre-dawn light. Blinking blurrily, he found his companion gone along with the man's things.

Frowning to himself, he dismissed the man's departure. He knew the man was probably eager to return to his family and home, but it did worry him that the man didn't seem to be fully there. Naruto hoped the shinobi would find a group of Kumo ninja, then travel with them. Though the man seemed to be able to take care of himself, really Naruto was in no condition to be tracking wandering madmen so there wasn't much he could do.

Getting up from the ground, he inspected his wounds. They were a bit red, though nothing to horrible, so that antibacterial cream he found at the abandoned camp was going to be helpful. Now that Kurama was gone, he knew that he would have to watch for infection much like how his friends had. It wasn't something he really had to worry about previously, the big fox tended to burn through just about everything.

Naruto picked up his discarded pouches and pack, readying himself for his journey to Konoha.

Walking along the ground and through the underbrush was a slow process, never had he been so appreciative of all the times he could use the tree branches above. With that option taken away, being his balance still seemed a bit off and his chakra use absent, he knew he would simply have to tough it out.

* * *

Kiba was smiling to himself, very pleased with the outcome of the strange turn of events. It was very pleasing to him that he was promoted so soon after the war. He got a wide range of recognition from not only the other shinobi of the village and friend group, but from _Hinata._

Oh, he knew that she had shown a great amount of interest in Naruto, whom he could acknowledge as a powerful individual and a great leader, and that Hinata hadn't truly looked Kiba's way with a romantic outlook because of that.

It had disappointed and frustrated him that he wasn't even given a chance to prove himself to her, Hinata-hime, the kindest and prettiest girl in the village. It annoyed him that no matter how hard he tried, she viewed him nothing more than a friend, a teammate. He didn't blame Naruto for her lack of attention to him, not totally at least... Hana said that a girl's heart was to difficult for him to grasp. Insulting to an extent, but none the less true.

What really irked him was the lack of acknowledgement Naruto showed Hinata's affections in return. Ignoring her like she didn't openly display her affections on any given basis. Everyone in the village knew who Hinata liked, even _he_ knew, yet Naruto had the guts to not show anything in return. That was what annoyed him the most. If he was Naruto and he saw Hinata even showing a slight interest, he would have instantly pursued her.

But no, that was all different now, because now she was looking at _him_ and not _Naruto_. Hinata had asked him, after the promotion ceremony, to go with her on a date with her. He, Inuzuka Kiba, was going on a date with her, Hyuuga Hinata.

Laughing slightly to himself, Kiba turned to his dog companion, Akamaru, "well, Akamaru, looks like hero really does get the girl. Heh, at this rate, I'll even become hokage. Maybe I could finally make a national dog day. Oh, and make it a law for everyone to have a dog. There would be no more strays, wouldn't that be great?"

Akamaru, standing a few paces behind the direction of Kiba's gaze, whined piteously. His human companion, Kiba, was sick. He didn't know what happened, exactly, to make all the humans act so strange. All he knew, and any other animal he has talked to thus far, have said the same thing. That the humans became sick right after the Day of Strange Light.

Nobody seemed to know what the light was, other than it hurt to look at and that when it shone, none of the humans moved.

Akamaru stayed by Kiba's side throughout that entire day, nudging or nipping his fingers to try and get his response. When that had failed to work, he tried getting the attention of the other humans, but they were as responsive as his human. When the light faded away, and Akamaru nudged Kiba, Kiba had responded.

At first it seemed like nothing was wrong, other than a bit of disorientation. It even seemed that Kiba would talk to him, but it quickly shown that Kiba was not, in fact, responding to Akamaru's actions at all. Kiba would have entire conversations with an invisible "Akamaru", talking with and petting him. Kiba couldn't see Akamaru at all. He didn't hear Akamaru's worried whimpers, or even notice that Akamaru had a presence.

Akamaru had looked for help, from other Inuzuka pack members, but they were all the same, everyone said the same thing happened to their humans. That they wouldn't respond, that nothing seemed to be right in their minds. Some of the older dogs suggested genjutsu, but nobody was able to break whatever made their humans sick. They even tried breaking the some other non-pack members out of the mind sickness, but it seemed to fail.

Then the humans started breaking up into smaller packs and heading out of the camp, packing away equipment and other things. When the others heard that the humans planned on returning to the villages, it was agreed that they would follow their mind sick humans to make sure that they were safe. Traveling like they were was dangerous, and nobody wanted to part from their humans. They would make a plan when they got back to their humans' homes.

Traveling with them was scary, unnerving, like being in the same room with a dog that had the foaming mouth sickness or with an older relative that was so old they thought they were a cat.

By the time they got to Konoha, the human village, the other dogs, along with himself, were worried. Their humans couldn't even tell if there was food in their hands as they ate or if what they ate was spoiled. One of the nearby humans even tried eating a sickness-plant. The sick human would have eaten it if Byamimi hadn't stopped him. The human didn't have anyone to take care of him so Byamimi herded the human together with her own human, which she took to protecting. When the other dogs heard about this, they began watching out and removing dangerous plants from around the village.

The other dogs were worried about leaving their humans by themselves, as with their mind sickness, they wouldn't be able to care for themselves. From what the other dogs in his clan had gathered, the other animals of the village reported the same things. Even the stupid cats were worried and proposed a temporary truce/alliance to figure out what was wrong with the humans.

Nobody could detect anything wrong with the humans other than that their perceptions were completely wrong. However, with a problem this large, it was definitely concerning. The messenger hawks agreed to check with further away villages, to see if the disease was wide spread. Finding a translator for the Aburame insects took time, but eventually they found an old turtle that knew the language and told them that the insects couldn't communicate with their people and that their humans' minds were in a sort of dream state. That they were all dreaming and experiencing things that didn't match reality.

Most of the dogs in the clan were watching over the humans, others were scouting the village with other animals to make sure there was nothing that a human could eat that would hurt it. The cats even proposed to a search for unaffected humans or to get in contact with a summoning, as they were more advanced with chakra control and might be able to break the mind sickness.

Akamaru was being sent back along with the Hatake ninkin, Urushi, to find the source of the strange light. Maybe then they could figure out why their humans had this _mind sickness._

Akamaru was really only still there to say good bye to Kiba, even if the boy couldn't hear him. He silently promised himself that he would do everything he could to help his boy.

With a sad sigh, he left Kiba in the care of his family. Glancing back once to his boy's form, laughing happily and patting "Akamaru" on the head.

* * *

An hour later Naruto's growling stomach made it known that a human needed food to survive and that one ration bar he found in the abandoned camp he ate yesterday was not going to cut it.

Huffing, he looked around the surrounding trees. He could set up traps, his speed at this point was faster than when he first set out. However he could probably not maneuver well enough to actually catch anything worth his energy, considering how many scratches and bruises he accumulated over his trip through the forest.

Stashing his things in the hollow of a decaying tree, Naruto pulled out his ninja wire, gathered some sticks, and a few kunai. With his things in hand, he walked into the forest and set up his traps.

He set up snares, using his wire to make a loop that would tighten when triggered to release or when an animal passed through.

Four hours later, he had a rabbit and a chicken. The rabbit he was expecting, he even half expected a squirrel or a rodent of some sort. The chicken, though, was not something he expected. Why there was a chicken wandering though the forest with not a farm within an hour's worth of civilian walking distance was beyond him. Naruto wasn't one to look a gift chicken in the beak...or however that saying went, and simply accepted that he had enough luck to get a chicken in the first place.

He made quick work of the chicken and rabbit. Plucking the chicken and hanging it to bleed out before skinning the rabbit and doing like wise. Removing the innards, which he would bury further from his camp, and cooking them over a fire he had set up.

Naruto had decided that he would camp where he was, he wasn't so far from Konoha now. If he was lucky, he would run into some friendly ninja that could help him home or heal his coils. Though he didn't think he was that lucky.

Naruto lay by himself, staring up at the darkening sky. Wondering what his friends were doing, what they thought had happened to him, where the entire military force of the elemental nations had disappeared, why they left in the first place, and most prominently on his mind was the absence of Kurama.

Naruto could delude himself, make believe that Kurama wasn't actually gone, pretend that his new friend wasn't...dead. It hardly felt real, Kurama's absence, to begin with. He could so easily pretend that the fox was still there, sleeping in his mind or simply ignoring him for being "a foolish, moronic piece of living biomatter that is about as aware of his surroundings as a worm was about a rainbow".

Except, when he stopped thinking about walking, when he took his mind off of the constant need to get to Konoha, when he stopped distracting himself with the gory chores of hunting and cleaning his food, when he finished thinking about how much better the food would have been if he had cooked it in an oven, Naruto would know. He would think about what happened in the cave, that hall of mirrors, what happened to him and Kurama. He would think and think and think with no one to take his mind off of the knowledge, the impossible notion, that Kurama the Nine-Tailed Chakra Fox of Mass Destruction was gone. Gone like all the other tailed beasts. Gone and never to return.

-(3262)-


	3. Chapter 3

**Esparia: That not so long awaited chapter three...more because no one really cares abou this than the actual wait. This has taken awhile to update.**

* * *

Finale

By Esparia

Chapter Three

Urushi didn't know what exactly he thought of the Inuzuka ninken, the young thing was a "worry wart" (as Kakashi would say). While he and others were concerned about their only human pack member, they figured that it was better to do something than worry themselves into fretful pups.

Kakashi didn't seem to being doing too much in the line of dangerous actions, though he would sporadically start doing things like duck-walking laps around Konoha. The pack eventually decided that "Gai" was challenging him. While watching actual challenges were something a little strange, as what humans did often were, watching his human take up a challenge without the other human was sad.

Urushi shook his fur, blue jacket shaking along with it; he didn't know what was happening with the humans and it bothered him. This was the point of this solely ninken mission, find out what happened to the humans and find out how to reverse it. If they could find Kakashi's excitable pup, all the better.

A pointed ear twitched as that Inuzuka pup started yapping about his human again. If there was one thing about the Inuzuka canines, it was that they were just as loud as their people. There was never a more accurate saying than "the man fits his dog".

* * *

Naruto had finished packing away his belongings when the sun rose above the horizon. He hoped that he would be able to make it to Konoha within a few days, but at the pace he was going it wasn't likely to happen. If anything, he would be arriving at the gates of Konohagakure in a week.

Naruto sighed, if this was what it was like to be a civilian than he was very thankful that he was given the shinobi career. Granted it wasn't really an option, what with him having a biju sealed in him, he was always going to become a shinobi. Though he never really thought about his predetermined life, it did give something to think about as one hiked their way through empty terrain, all by themselves, alone, without even a cranky old fox to keep him company...

Sure there were animals, plants, and other things in the land he walked; but he had yet to run across another traveler since that man. He watched his surroundings for possible threats but came across none and eventually got very bored with scanning an already scanned area. The most dangerous thing in the area was a bunny nibbling at a stalk of shrubbery with aggressive ferocity. Which was _so_ terrifying. He was sure to get nightmares...okay, so maybe he was a bit bored. Which really didn't fit his situation, for all he knew Madara could be razing his village to the ground.

Naruto spent a day and a half passing equally as threatening animals before he met something more dangerous.

He was taking a break and riffling through his pack of dried meat. He normally wouldn't have taken a break, being a stamina freak seconded only by Lee and Gai. Though with the hidden wounds of his chakra coils and the stinging throbs of his tenketsu points, it was amazing Naruto was able to move at all.

Thus, Naruto found himself sitting sedately when he first sensed something moving in the woods that was not a harmless field mouse.

He drew out a kunai, just in case, and waited for the creature to come out. He spotted a flash of white to his right and slowly positioned himself towards it. He didn't want to attack an ally but he wasn't willing to let himself become vulture food.

A branch snapped and a second spot of white appeared in the trees.

Naruto never was one to leave things to guessing, and he certainly wasn't someone who left out introductions.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I would really appreciate it if you could stop hiding in the trees like creeps."

There was a rustling and some movement before two white and light brown blurs jumped into view.

He blinked and the two dogs blinked back.

Sheathing his weapons, with some mild embarrassment, "ah, Akamaru and...Urushi? Where are Kiba and Kakashi-sensei?"

The two dogs looked at each other in confusion. They found Naruto, which was a good thing and even a sub-objective of their mission: find out what happened to Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Obito. However, they were expecting to find a few magot's-corpses or death scents, at best they would find the human-pup with the mind-sickness. Perhaps he did have the mind-sickness and the pup was merely dreaming of them, as unlikely as that was.

Urushi side-eyed the human-pup, Akamaru-kun, walk to his side. We'll see how he reacts. If he turns hostile, I'll free you.

Akamaru flicked an ear in consent, Hai, Urushi-taichou.

Akamaru knew Naruto, he had known this human since he was a pup, he also knew that while Naruto could be brash and rough, he was very kind. Naruto would even sneak him treats. With this in mind, Akamaru confidently walked up to Naruto, sniffing lightly, Naruto-kun smells of injury, life-energy is...different, same?

Naruto bent down beside his friend's canine companion and gently rubbed his ears. A frown made it's way across his face and looked to the second dog, that he was pretty sure was named Urushi. Urushi always had struck Naruto as a mean looking dog and Akamaru as a friendly dog, but he didn't know that they knew each other. Though, he supposed with so few ninken out there, they would at least know of each other.

He glanced back and forth between the two, he knew that Akamaru couldn't talk but he wasn't sure about Urushi. Pakkun could talk, but that might only be his thing. The toads could talk, but they were special toads. Honestly, Naruto didn't know much about ninken and dogs typically didn't like being around him. Kiba said he smelt like fox, which could aggravating?

So he didn't understand them, not like Kiba and Kakashi seemed to. He did understand when he was being left out of a conversation and Naruto hated that. Patting Akamaru's head, he awkwardly said, "Uh, so, I can't really understand you. So maybe you could go get Kakashi-sensei or Kiba?"

Urushi huffed in exasperation, We find a human without the mind-sickness and it's one that doesn't understand the canine-speak. How's your human-speak coming along?

Akamaru's tail drooped, ah, not...much, Kiba understands me and so I don't really need to learn.

Urushi's nose scrunched slightly, displeasure clear to the younger dog, Foolish pup, there is always a need to learn. If you have the ability to learn a skill, learn it. How do you plan to communicate with other humans without Kiba-kun? My pack has Pakkun and Kakashi, the rest of us don't have the ability to vocalize human-speak.

Cowed, Akamaru's tail dropped fully and his head bowed, I...could try to vocalize?

Urushi walked to his side, at the very least, try. For all we know, he knows what the red light was. He doesn't have the mind-sickness, so he might be able to cure it.

Akamaru looked up at Naruto, who was staring in surprise at the spiky furred dog, and worked his mouth, "aou..."

Naruto squinted, "huh?"

Akamaru's droopy ear flicked back, uh...sorry...

Urushi flicked an ear forward, try again.

Akamaru licked his nose nervously, "nou...no."

Naruto blinked, "no?"

Akamaru's tail wagged nervously, uh, right?

Naruto tilted his head, "I didn't know you could talk. No what?"

Akamaru huffed, this is going to take a while, what am I supposed to tell him? I can hardly pronounce these vocalizations.

Urushi's tail raised lightly, tell him that we're alone.

Akamaru's tail twitched lower, yes, sir.

Naruto looked between the two dogs, "no what? No you won't you won't bring them here? Wait, why are you two here? Together? I mean, don't get me wrong, but isn't there some rule about working with unfamiliar packs?"

"Nauofo," Akamaru barked, cutting off what he recognized as the start of a ramble, "riffen, Kiba no here. Kaka-thee no here. Urufi arp me find red light. Herough."

"Um," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't get a lot of that at the end. Kakashi and Kiba aren't here?"

Urushi gave a very human nod, correct, good job Akamaru-kun.

Akamaru's tail wagged and nodded too, thank you.

Naruto looked at the two wondering, "if they aren't here, where are they?"

Akamaru shifted, he knew this word, he heard it many times before, and now he had to vocalize it, "Ko-noh-ha."

"Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes widening, "Then what are you doing way out here? Some dog only mission?"

Urushi nodded and Akamaru followed his lead.

"Cool. I guess I shouldn't keep you from completing it," Naruto said, straitening.

"No. Wa-it!" Akamaru yelped, "human many bad in...Konah-ha."

"What?" Naruto asked, puzzled. He felt kind of bad for forcing Akamaru to talk, he obviously was struggling and Urushi didn't seem pleased about something.

Urushi was looking at Akamaru and seemed to be growling, but Akamaru didn't react like it was bad so Naruto wasn't sure what to think. All he really knew was that wagging tails sometimes meant happiness and sometimes aggressiveness (ah, learning the hard way), and that teeth were usually threats.

Akamaru shook before sitting down, thinking before saying, "irr in Konohha, think irr, human many irr. Kiba irr. Kaka-thee irr. All human irr. Urufi arp me find what make irr."

"Okay, let me see if I understand," Naruto rubbed his head, if there was one thing babysitting helped with, it was understanding butchered words, "There is _ill_ in Konoha. Everyone is ill, sick, everyone is sick in Konoha. All the people, including Kiba and Kakashi. And you two are trying to find what's making them sick."

Akamaru yipped and wagged his tail, yes, that's it exactly.

Naruto began gathering his things, "I should probably get to Konoha then, see if I could help. Heh, but my chakra is all screwed up from...uh, _that_ , and it'll probably take me forever to get there. Hey, you might even beat me there after you finish your mission."

Akamaru whined, What are we supposed to do? I'm not making sense to him.

Urushi closed his eyes in thought, tell him that we'll bring him to Konoha.

But our mission- Akamaru started in surprise.

Can be finished if Naruto-kun has some answers that we can't ask for, Urushi tilted his head with finality, you are big enough to carry him.

Yes, agreed Akamaru before he turned to Naruto, "Urufi arp me bring Narufo in Konoha."

"You're bringing me to Konoha? But isn't that...the opposite of doing your mission?" Naruto asked.

Urushi shrugged, Akamaru tried to shrug, and Naruto shook his head, "your call. Alright! Let's get to Konoha!"

Naruto's stomach growled.

"After we eat."

* * *

Both dogs snorted in amusement.

"I can see why Kiba is always on your back," Naruto mused, clinging to the white fur as they sped through the trees, "it's like riding a furry toad."

...did he just call me a toad? Akamaru asked.

Urushi leapt to the next branch, A furry toad.

"When will we get to Konoha?" Naruto asked, breaking the not quite silence.

Urushi's nose twitched, We'll get there around sun-nadir.

Akamaru huffed and slowly pronounced, "Konoha in high-moon."

"Midnight," Naruto echoed, before asking, "why is your grammar so strange? You hear Kiba and other people talk."

Akamaru glanced back, "Kiba trah... transrates word many. Human many bark more, arp- and word many mean differrrent. Me rearn now human word many."

"You're learning, that's cool. Is Kiba teaching you?" Naruto asked, he had always wondered if ninken learned from the people contracted to them or if they learned from some dog-sensei.

"Kiba no teach. Me rrlearn now alone," Akamaru explained, "diff...difficurrlt..."

"You should ask Kiba for help, he'd be excited and brag about it for weeks," Naruto said, adjusting the pack on his back.

"No. Kiba...thhick...thhsick...sick. Kiba sick think," Akamaru said, tail drooping, "Kiba no hear me."

Naruto frowned and looked towards Urushi, who was running a pace ahead of them. Urushi seemed to be the leader of this mission, and seemed to be wanting poor Akamaru to explain things to him. Akamaru talked about a sickness, a sick thinking. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean and every time he asked for clarification, the poor dog's tail would droop and look to Urushi for help. It was evident, even to Naruto, that Akamaru didn't know the words for their problem. They weren't messenger dogs, they tracked and sought out things they were told to find. They were fighters, fighting what they were told to fight. Which begged the question as to why these two dogs in particular were on a mission without either of their people.

Kiba almost never left Akamaru alone, they were as inseparable as he and Kurama were. Kakashi would have teamed his dog up with another of his dogs if it was going to be some dog-only mission. It was easy enough to figure out that both dog users had this sickness that had to have been so bad that they couldn't even help their dogs.

This sick thinking could be a number of things. They could be going crazy, like Orochimaru crazy. They could have a bad fever, Sakura had explained that when someone was too hot they couldn't think clearly and sometimes hallucinated (which apparently was like genjutsu created by your own mind and couldn't be broken). Then it could be something completely different, Akamaru even said that the words meant different things.

Then a thought crossed his mind. Why didn't these two dogs ask for help from other people? Akamaru said all the people were sick in Konoha. What kind of sickness could overtake an entire village, let alone a shinobi village? They had medic nin for things like that, and why were there so many people in the village and not in battle. Surely the war wasn't actually over. Madara was still out there. What if... What if this thinking sickness was no sickness at, but a genjutsu. Madara did monologue about some genjutsu he planned on casting over the entire world.

But that couldn't be it, after all, Naruto was fairly sure that he'd know that something wasn't right. And even if he was under a genjutu, why would it be about losing one of his best friends and riding Akamaru back to Konoha because his chakra coils were damaged? That wouldn't make sense according to Madara's peace-through-dreams plan.

Though, it was all too possible that whatever Madara did in that cave (and boy was that some freaky crap) could have casted a genjutsu over the nearby shinobi army. Perhaps the jutsu was done wrong, and Naruto had his fair share of accidents to know that even a slight fluctuation off could cause some major problems in a jutsu. Such as blowing yourself up, losing your clothes, deafening yourself for a day, the list went on. Sakura had told him that delicate jutsu, like iryoninjutsu and genjutsu, had to be flawless else some really horrible things could happen.

With that worry in mind, Naruto asked, "Akamaru, this thinking sickness. Is it a genjutsu?"

Akamaru barked at Urushi, What did he say?

Urushi flicked his tail, Ask him to repeat the question.

"Say...again?" Akamaru asked carefully, the "S" words were hard, he was no snake after all.

"Is the thinking sickness a genjutsu?" Naruto repeated.

He wants to know if it's a chakra-mirage, Urushi flicked his pointed ears, spiky fur ruffling in the wind.

Is it? Akamaru wondered, have we received any updates?

Urushi huffed, Tranquil-Shinning-Claw-san flew in while you were being fed by Naruto-kun. The Aburame insects have focused their efforts into bringing their hosts out of chakra-mirage, they have reported that internal chakra disruption hasn't broken their dreams. They're in something stronger and more akin to a phantasmagoria then an actual mirage. Like they're in dreams, living lives that skip around. That's why they suddenly seem to stop doing one thing and immediately head in a direction that makes no sense according to their surroundings. It is a chakra-mirage, but stronger. Like an omega pup and an alpha wolf.

Akamaru recoiled, his human was fighting something so out of his league, he couldn't help but whine a bit, ...they're okay, right?

They'll be okay, Urushi promised, inwardly wondering how long that would be true. If this mirage continued to plague the humans, it was only a matter of time before the problems became relevant. After all, when a wolf got old and could no longer see the prey it was hunting, they would eventually starve having never actually caught their prey.

Turning back to Naruto, Akamaru slowly pronounced what he hoped would get the message across, "Yes, sick think is g...genju...tsu. Strong more genjutsu. No fight."

"The entire village is under a genjutsu!" Naruto exclaimed he had so wished that it wouldn't be true. That his far fetched (no pun intended) guess wouldn't be reality.

"Yes," Akamaru confirmed, happy that his human words were making sense, not so happy that it was Naruto watching him learn. He wanted his boy back.

"Did Madara do something to them?" Naruto asked, "I was kinda out of it after...yeah."

Akamaru blinked, Urushi-taichou, what-

He wants to know if it's that alpha's, Madara-ojii, fault. Sounds like he passed out after he was captured, Urushi said, trying to listen for any threats. Even though all humans, that they know of, were under this genjutsu. He couldn't be too careful, the subcontracted animals didn't care much for them anyway.

"No know," Akamaru replied to Naruto, they were sent to investigate the cause of the sickness. So who knows what that crazy elder was up to.

"So, what's the plan? Can you break them out of the genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"That'ssss what I would like to know," a hissing voice said from the branches above, causing the trio to stop.

-(3040)-


End file.
